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  1. Lou C

    Closed cooling worth the money?

    For sure in salt water, it will extend engine life by a significant amount because the cyl heads will not be likely to rust through after 10-15 years of use. Usually the blocks don't at least I've never heard of anyone having a block rot through here but I have heard of a few cyl heads rotting...
  2. Lou C

    VP 4.3 GL conversion to Holley Sniper 2 efi

    Holley's website also has a pretty good forum where you can post up questions. I too am a fan of carbed engines on older boats. EFI gets very expensive to repair and the OEMs have a lousy habit of leaving you high and dry with NLA parts. Whereas I can get any part I need for a Quadrajet that...
  3. Lou C

    Volvo Penta Fuel Pump Whining Noise

    Look up man cave mechanic’s you tube channel, he has lots of info on these problems
  4. Lou C

    Mercruiser vs. Volvo parts availability

    In addition to what's been said, keep in mind that sooner or later you will have to fix something you can't do yourself, so find out if marine repair shops will work on a Volvo that age. If no one will do it, I think it's risky.
  5. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    You know I tried a 140 stat in mine because I always heard, oh in salt water you will get mineral build up with anything warmer. Well when I had the heads off to do the rebuild, I saw no such thing. I've seen pics of outboards with alu blocks with build up but not on the old cast iron block or...
  6. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    Ultimately your comp test may not be as accurate with a cold engine, you can try it though. With a 140 'stat you should be within that temp give or take about 15-20 degrees. Even with the hotter 160 stat in mine I never ran at 180 unless there was a problem (clogged water intakes, sand sucked...
  7. Lou C

    Mercruiser 3.0 LX Mechanical Fuel Pump. I am replacing with a new one is this normal?

    Yep I used a dab or 2 of Evinrude triple guard grease (what we call blue snot lol) which also works. I do like the old school mechanical pump, the last one I replaced was 30 years old, and no wiring/terminal headaches, they just work, and work!
  8. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    That's kind of what I thought, make sense because with the totally open OMC/Volvo set up the manifolds and elbows run really cool at idle, like 95-110* and a max of 135-140 only after coming off plane. Yet, I haven't seen signs of rusty exhaust valve stems when I pull the exhaust off for the...
  9. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    Another way to do it is to find some clear reinforced hose the same size as your t stat housing to manifold hose. Temporarily replace the regular hoses with these. Then run it on the water till the stat opens and bring it up on plane. When you bring it back down to idle, if you see bubbles in...
  10. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    Can't say for what Merc would say but I can tell you 20 years worth (all salt water) on my OMC, with the 160 stat, it runs mostly at 155-160. It might rise up to 175 but only after coming off plane when the engine has heat built up in it but the raw water flow slows down. But it will cool back...
  11. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    One thing I haven't figured out is why Merc used the check balls but OMC & Volvo never used this system, everything is free flowing and I've really not had overheating problems with this boat even in salt water. The only time was from marine growth in the water intake holes and to solve that, I...
  12. Lou C

    Mercruiser 3.0 LX Mechanical Fuel Pump. I am replacing with a new one is this normal?

    those springs are very stiff the bump on the camshaft can push it down but you likely can't lol easier than dealing with the pushrod on the V6s which don't have the extra hole in the block like the V8 to hold it still temporarily with a longer bolt!
  13. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    With an open (raw water cooled) system anything that inhibits the flow of water in or out will cause elevated temperatures. Another often missed cause of overheating is leaky head gaskets, they can allow exhaust gas to get into the cooling water and even if nothing else is wrong, the engine...
  14. Lou C

    Replacing old wiring and fuse block with modern switches/breakers

    I bought a Blue Seas fuse block to finally upgrade my old one. Spring project.
  15. Lou C

    Mercruiser 305 V-8 Temp issues

    I agree with the statement about that manifold's corrosion, even my 100% salt water used manifolds don't look like that! You say pressure is building up between your circ pump hose and the thermostat housing, are the passages in that housing that feeds the elbows open? Are the thermostat...
  16. Lou C

    Recommend a good semi-permanent rtv

    RTV like what you use on the China Wall area of a Chevy small block, one of the best I have found is the Mopar Auto trans fluid RTV. It is a little expensive but seals well. But normally you could use Ultra Black or Ultra Grey RTV. Some have used The Right Stuff on things like differential...
  17. Lou C

    Throttle Control Replacement - Caravelle 209

    Usually the hardest thing about this job (on some boats) is figuring out how to get the coaming panel off to access the control.
  18. Lou C

    Out to lunch Gear Oil Prices

    I'm extravagant I use Quicksilver syn blend 25/50 in my old 4.3 and High Performance Gear Lube in the Cobra drive. Expensive yes, but both are working great, the engine had a top end overhaul 6 years ago and now all the wear metals seen in the Blackstone analysis are in the normal range. BTW...
  19. Lou C

    Out to lunch Gear Oil Prices

    I think we all know, nothing is "free" we all pay one way or another. Having said that, unless your job provides good heath care it can be a real financial burden in the US. I think some would pay more for everything just to not have to worry about that. In addition, college costs seem a good...
  20. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    rebuild kit looks like this....
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